It’s been nearly two months now since one of our Indian house parents was headed to the Department of Children’s Welfare, preparing to make a case to keep the boys in his care. As we prayed for him, I kept asking the Lord to help the official see that this man served the one, true God. “Let him see our house father’s sincerity as he serves you by caring for orphans. Make the official fearful of crossing YOU!”

As I prayed, my thoughts turned to Rahab. An unlikely heroine of the Old Testament, Rahab also encountered the one, true God when she was put in a place of opposition with His servants.

Rahab—a pagan, Canaanite prostitute—literally risked her life and limb to hide and assist the Israelites who’d come to scope out Jericho. Here they were, scheming a plan of attack against her homeland, and she jumped to their aid!

Why would she do that?

We can find out from Joshua 2:8-11,

“Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below. 

Rahab and others in her nation had heard what God did for the Israelites at the Red Sea, how God had parted the waters to allow them to walk through and then folded them back together over the pursuing Egyptian army. Though she lived in enemy territory, she recognized that Israel’s God was the real deal.

So she struck a bargain with the Israelite spies. If she protected them on their exploratory mission, would they spare her and her family when the battle came to pass? Rahab was a shrewd woman. She knew the victory would belong to the Israelites and their God. She might as well be on their side!

Following the destruction of Jericho, Rahab joined the Israelite nation. The Israelites became her people; their God became her God. The creator of the universe honored her faith and positioned her to become an ancestress of King of David—and eventually Jesus, the Messiah!

This plan first unfolded with her giving birth to our namesake, Boaz.

I don’t know why the Indian official with the Department of Children’s Welfare relented that day a couple months ago. I know your prayers had a lot to do with it. But maybe he also saw something in our house father that he wasn’t willing to oppose. Maybe he caught a glimpse of the one, true God.

As we head into March, contemplate who needs to see one true God in your life? What can you share with him or her to testify how very real He is? Start talkin’!

This month, as you pray for The Boaz Project, please remember the following requests:

1. Ask God that The Boaz Project—our donors, staff, house parents and volunteers—would serve as witnesses in our communities to the one, true God.
2. Thank God for providing for our Indian home facing persecution from the Department of Children’s Welfare. Funds are coming in to allow them to accomplish the list of demands placed on them in time in order to keep the boys in their care. Construction of a new story for the boys has begun and is pictured below.
3. Thank God for the volunteers and house parents around the world who provide hands-on care to orphans.
4. Lift April Jurgensen and Michaela Shake to the throne room as they travel to India this month (the 18^th to the 26^th) to train house parents to care for children from trauma. Ask for specific protection as they exit through passport control on the 25^th.

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Saturday, May 4 
9am
The Gathering Place, Greenwood, IN

This event includes:

• Family Fun Zone
• New Course
• Professional chip timing for the 5K
• A tech tee-shirt with pre-registration (cotton blend youth sizes)
• Option to walk, run, or sleep in!
• Finish line celebration with awards, live music, and snacks

We hope you will join us on Saturday, May 4, 2019, at The Gathering Place in Greenwood!

Register here: https://boazproject.org/5k